The Tasting Panel magazine

June 2015

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106 / the tasting panel / june 2015
T
he still that George Washington used to
make brandy at Mount Vernon. A whiskey
prescription for a "patient" trying to skirt
those pesky alcohol laws during Prohibition. The
silver cocktail shaker and cups Franklin Delano
Roosevelt used to mix up strong (but allegedly
not very good) Martinis in the White House each
afternoon at 5 p.m.
There are more than twelve billion records
(including digital) contained in the National
Archives in Washington, D.C., including the core
documents that form the basis of this coun-
try—the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of
Rights and the Constitution. But the latest batch
of finds is quenching history buffs' thirsts in a dif-
ferent way. The Archives recently opened up an
exhibit called Spirited Republic in the Lawrence
F. O'Brien Gallery, which examines the dichoto-
mous role alcohol has played in the United States
over the years—as an object to be demonized,
idolized and everything in-between. The exhibit
will be on display through January 2016, and
aims to give all visitors—not just hard-core spirits
fans—a little beverage education about how we
got here. (Hint: a little time spent perusing the
walls and display cases gives a museum-goer
A NEW EXHIBIT AT THE
NATIONAL ARCHIVES EXAMINES
AMERICA'S CONFLICTED
RELATIONSHIP WITH ALCOHOL
by Kelly A. Magyarics /
photos by Mark Finkenstaedt
A
Spirited
Republic
The Spirited Republic's Chief Spirits Advisor Derek
Brown in front of George Washington's still.